Political Rally (and Protest)

Ad for the event

D. has been teaching me about German politics. (As well as the educational system and etc.) This morning, we went to a political rally for the FDP (Freie Demokratische Parte, Free Democratic Party). The Vizekanzler (Vice Chancellor) Guido Westerwelle spoke, as well as another party official. Topics included schools and children, the economy, and relationships with foreign lands. (What he said about these things, I'm not so sure...) A local band of teenagers also played jazz before and after the event.

Outside was the inevitable protest. They chanted and played whistles during the speeches inside. The big issue for them, I believe, was the discussions over prolonging the life of Germany's nuclear power plants. (I have no idea what this is in German, so I'm not sure whether it was addressed in any of the speeches.) According to D., Westerwelle is highly unpopular right now and this issue might well be why.

While not the most politically active of people, I did notice some differences between German and American political rallies. Mainly, they're much more chill. z.B., the speakers moved through the crowd, security at a watchful distance, and then were seated in the crowd. In the US, that would be a crazy, bold move, and the security guards would be pooping themselves.

Billboard and (big) flags

I kinda wish I'd taken one of the nifty FDP flags/pinwheels with me, though. Oh well.